The performance of root canal surgery is very common in the field of endodontics. One step that is performed during root canal surgery is removing tissue from the canal of the root of a patient's tooth. While various different methods, using various different endodontic files, are conventionally employed, typically a series of progressively larger and/or differently shaped files or drill bits (for the purposes of this application, the terms “file and “drill bit” shall be used interchangeably) are successively employed by an endodontist until a satisfactory amount of tissue has been removed from the canal of the root of the tooth.
There are many different types of endodontic files that are known in the art or that are currently in the market. However, none of these endodontic files, either when used separately or in combination with each other, perform satisfactorily. For instance, one of the problems experienced by conventional endodontic files is that cutting edges disposed on helical flutes of the endodontic files provide less than satisfactory removal of tissue from the canal of the root of the tooth. Thus, when used in certain portions of the canal of the root of a tooth, the files do not adequately remove tissue that is desired to be removed.
Furthermore, another problem that is experienced by conventional endodontic files is that they are prone to break during use. As conventional endodontic files are rotated within the canal of the root of a tooth, friction occurs between the outer diameter of the file and the inner wall of the canal of the root, causing the file to experience torque forces. The frictional forces are especially experienced by endodontic files because endodontic files are employed in canal of the roots of teeth, which are uneven in shape and may curve significantly in several directions. Furthermore, these frictional forces are exacerbated when tissue becomes clogged within the helical flutes and tissue is unable to be moved out of the root canal, causing the file to experience still further torque forces. These torque forces, if sufficiently large, may cause the file to break in the canal of the root. When a file breaks within an canal of the root, extracting the broken file therefrom may be very problematic.
Still further, another problem that is experienced by conventional endodontic files is that they remove not merely tissue in the canal of the root that is desired to be removed, but in some instances, portions of the inner wall of the canal of the root that are not desired to be removed. Because of the uneven shape and significant curvature of the canal of the root, conventional endodontic files—by virtue of their limited flexibility—may be pressed against, and thereby cut into, certain portions of the inner walls of the canal of the root more severely than desired, resulting in the undesired removal of the inner walls of the canal of the root in these portions. It is typically a goal when performing root canal surgery to minimize the removal of the inner wall of the canal of the root.
Another step during, e.g., root canal procedures, is to obturate or fill the void in the canal after the tissue is removed. Conventional obturator devices typically employ a constant taper. It is found that most canals of roots do not have a constant taper and thus conventional obturator instruments bind at the top of the canal. Also, conventional obturator devices typically have a conical or circle cross-section. This does not allow the flow of excess filler material to move out of the canal and instead pushes the excess filler material out the canal and into the body.
Thus, there is a need for an endodontic file, or a series of endodontic files, that perform satisfactorily when used during an endodontic surgical procedure such as a root canal procedure. There is also a need for an endodontic obturator device, or a series of endodontic obturator devices, that enable a root canal to be filled after an endodontic surgical procedure, such as a root canal procedure, has been performed using an endodontic file, or a series of endodontic files, of the present invention.